FIFA World Cup: The noise of a nation silenced

list of 10-must-haves at the World Cup, carrying in its belly the organisers’ official seal.

But percussionist Brown, who created the instrument to ‘recreate the sounds of nature and of the sea’ is annoyed. “When I see this instrument sold for $14, I think it’s a bit absurd,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “Maybe it’s not an instrument that’s good for the World Cup.”

Too late Mr Brown. For FIFA are rattling it from the rooftops. Close your eyes now and you can almost hear it, somewhere in the not-so-distant future. But don’t keep those eyes shut for too long, for it could thunder down on your head with an 80 per cent chance of causing physical damage.

FIFA Ranking: 4

Betting Ranking: 1

elo Ranking: 1

COACH: Luiz Felipe Scolari

star PLAYERS: Neymar, Oscar, David Luiz, Ramires

The Brazil World Cup’s answer to the vuvuzela was invented by Oscar-nominated Brazilian composer Carlinhos Brown . Unlike the vuvuzela, it doesn’t sound like a swarm of bees. Also, unlike the vuvuzela, it will not be seen inside a stadium.

* The caxirola is composed of plastic produced from Brazilian sugar cane ethanol and filled with small plastic particles. “Caxirola” is pronounced, ka-shee-role-ah.

* Whereas the vuvuzela has cultural and historical significance in South Africa, the caxirola was invented specifically for the World Cup, with the brief that it should be less annoying than the vuvuzela, and quieter.

* While the vuvuzela blares at 127 decibels , not much lesser than the sound of a gun shot, the caxirola’s rattle measures a sedate 80 decibels.

* The caxirola had a inauspicious debut. They were given to fans at a Brazilian national game in April 2013. However fans from the losing team ended up hurling them onto the field. Unfortunately the caxirola is made of rigid plastic and has the potential to cause a head injury if thrown with sufficient force or lobbed from a very high seat in the bleachers. They were also remarkably aerodynamic. There were so many caxirolas on the field, they had to suspend the game.

* While no one was hurt, FIFA, nevertheless banned the caxirola from the Confederations Cup in Brazil the same year. Federal officials in Brazil have now banned caxirolas from all 12 of the Brazilian football grounds where the World Cup matches will be played – for “safety reasons”.

* In order to deal with some of the drawbacks, the caxirola 2.0 is currently being tested. The new noisemaker is inflatable rather than rigid and has a soft padded base. Also, the finger loop is now soft plastic and cannot be used as a brass knuckle.